Stitch-length mechanism for straight-bar knitting-machines.



J. L. MAOADAMS- STITCH LENGTH MECHANISM FOR STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. s, 1908.

1,030,10Q Patented June 18, 1912.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

atkwmugo.

COLUMBIA PLANoaRAPn co. wAsnlNo'roN, nv c. I

J. L. MAOADAMS. STITCH LENGTH MECHANISM FOR STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINES.

' APPLICATION FILED MAR. 6, 1908. 1,080, 10., Patented June 18, 1912.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

witness:

attoznugo,

COLUMBIA PMNDGRAPN cm. Wxs'mNG'rON. D. c.

' J. L. MAOADAMS. STITCH LENGTH MECHANISM FOR STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION nun MAR. 6, 190s.

1,080,100., Patented June 18, 1912.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

attouwqo.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPM (0.. wAsmNa'l'ON, D. c-

J. L. MAQADAMS. STITCH LENGTH MECHANISM FOR STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAE. 6, 1908. 1,030,100, Patented June 18, 1912.

LANOGRAPN C0 WASHINGTON. D- C.

J. L. MAOADA'MS- STITCH LENGTH MECHANISM FOR STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINES.

Patented June 18, 1912.

. 6 SHEETS-SHEET APPLICATION FILED MAR. 6, 1908.

caumau PLmouuAPn co wAsnnid-ro'u. n. c.

a ic.

JOHN L. MAOADAMS, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE AS- SIGNMENTS, TO WILLIAM H. HORN, WILLIAM H. HORN, JIL, AND WALTER JFHORN, COPARTNERS TRADING AS WILLIAM H. HORN & BROTHER, OF PHILADELPHIA,

PENNSYLVANIA.

STITCH-LENGTH MECHANISM FOR STRAIGHT-BAR KNITTING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 6, 1908.

Patented June 18, 1912. Serial No. 419,555.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN L. MAoADAMs,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Straight-Bar Knitting-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invent-ion relates to knitting machines of the hand frame or straight bar type.

The object of the invention is, in a simple and ready manner, and without involving any radical changes in the structural arrangement of an ordinary knitting machine, to adapt it for knitting fashioned vyork, such as abdominal belts, fashioned insteps, knee-caps, and the like, without the use of partial courses. 7

With the above and other objects in view, as will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in a novel means for shortening and lengthening the stitches to any desired degree, whereby to impart the required shape to the article being knitted.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, and in which like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts, Figure 1 is a view in vertical transverse section, in the nature of a diagram, displaying so much of a lmitting machine as is necessary to an understand ing of one embodiment of the invention.

produced by the faller bar shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view exhibiting a piece of fabric that can be produced by cutting the specimen shown in Fig. 6 in half, and then uniting by knitting or stitching the broader ends. Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. '1, displaying a further modified form of the invention. Fig. 9 is a front elevation, looking in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 5, of a further modified form of the invention. Figs. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 18 and 19 are views, somewhat in the nature of diagrams, of other modified forms of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, and to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 thereof, 1 designates the needle bar of a knitting machine, 2 one of the needle stocks or leads, 3 one of the needles, 4 the facing bar, 5 the hand bar, 6 one of the sinkers, 7 one of the jacks, 8 the locking bar, 9 the slay, and 10 a jack spring, and as these parts may be of the usual, or any preferred construction, further description thereof is deemed unnecessary. The novelty of this form of the invention, as well as those hereinafter described, resides in means for varying the fall or vibrations of the jacks, whereby to lengthen or shorten the stitches. This result can be secured in a large number of ways, as will hereinafter appear, that shown in the present embodiment of the invention being accomplished by a bar or plate 11 constituting a jack falllimiting member that is supported by the faller bar 12, or it may constitute the bar itself. As will be seen by reference to Fig. 2, the upper surface of the bar 11, which may be made of any material suited to the purpose, is concaved, the lowest portion of the concavity being at the center of the member, although it may be located at any other point on the face. By this arrangement, it will be obvious that the jacks disposed at the ends of the member will not be permit-ted to have as great a fall as those at its center, and this will cause a shortening of the stitches at the first-named jacks, and a lengthening of those at the second-named jacks.

With a jack fall-limiting or controlling member constructed as shown in Fig. 2, the article produced will have the general con tour of that shown in Fig. 3, and will be employed as an abdominal supporter, in which the knitted fabricis widest at the center and tapers gradually toward each end. As will be obvious, the design of the article may be varied by changing the face of the jack fall-limiting member that opposes the jacks, that is to say, it may be made a true curve, as shown, or an irregular one, and as this will be readily understood, detailed illustration of such obvious change is omitted.

In the Operation of the machine, no special attention will be required, as the addition to it of the jack fall-limiting member will not in any way increase its complexity, nor will it, in any way, necessitate any change in the structural arrangement of the machine. The member 11 may be held assembled with the falling bar in any preferred manner, as by being screwed or riveted thereto, or it may be held in place by the employment of a suitable adhesive.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 41 and 5, the only difference over that just described is that the jack controlling member 13 has its upper face convex, the highest portion of convexity being shown at the center of the member, although it may be arranged at any other preferred point in its length.

In Fig. 6 is shown a piece of fabric produced by the employment of the jack controlling member 13, wherein the opposite edges of the fabric are shown as inwardly curved, and to produce the article shown in Fig. 3, it will only be necessary to cut the article in half and assemble its wider ends by knitting or stitching.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the shortening and lengtheningof the stitches is secured by making the upper face of the needle bar 14 concaved, although it may be convexed, this arrangement causing the needles to be arranged on a curved, instead of on a straight, line as usual.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 10, the shortening and lengthening of the stitches are produced by making the upper face of the needle bar 15 straight and arranging the needles 3 in the leads 16 at different heights relatively to the upper face of the needle bar.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 11, the shortening and lengthening of the stitches are secured by varying the posi-' tion of the jack locking seats 17 of the jack springs 10.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig.

12-, the shortening and lengthening of the stop bar 19 which will limit their downward movement.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 14., the lengthening and shortening of the stitches are secured by arranging a jack fallcontrolling member 20' in the line of the sinkers and below the facing bar at and the hand bar 5, the upper face of the member 20 being either concaved or convexed, as may be preferred.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 15, the shortening and lengthening of the stitches are secured by concaving or convening the under face of the locking bar 8.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 16, the shortening or lengthening of the stitches is secured by disposing a supplemental stop bar 21 above the jacks 7 at any preferred point in their length, that is,

at any point between the locking bar 8 and the jack wire, the under-face of the bar 21 being concavedor convexed, as may be desired, or of an irregular contour.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 17, the shortening or lengthening of the stitches is secured by disposing a supplemental stop bar 22 beneath the jacks, at any point in their length between their heads and the. jack wire, the upper faceof the bar being either concaved, conveXed, orof an irregular form.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 18, the shortening or lengthening of the stitches is secured by combining with the upper rail 23 of the slay frame a plurality of plates 24, there being one for each of the jacks, and each plate is provided at its upper end portion with a longitudinal slot 25 through whichpasses a screw 26 that serves to hold the plate, which constitutes a jack controlling member, at the desired adjustment.

The constructions shown in Figs. 18 and 19 are modifications of the same general form as shown in Fig. 16, where the supplemental stop bar. 21 is mounted above the jacks 7 or independent of the jacks-supportfications may be preferred because the jacks each being movable in a respective guideway in the slay will always strike its respective and prescribed portion of the plate contour when the slur raises thelr rear ends in the usual manner of straight frame knitting. In the form of the invention as shown in Fig. 19 the shortening or lengthening of the stitches is secured by combining with the upper rail 23 of the slay frame a single plate 241 having its lower edge describing a curve for cont-rolling the jacks. i It will be seen from the foregoing description, that in each arrangement shown, means is provided that will operate, in a thoroughly feasible and practical manner, and

without any material change in the structural arrangement of the machine, to secure any desired change in the len th of the stitches, whereby articles of different marginal contours may readily be manufactured.

I claim 1. A knitting machine including needles and a series of cooperating sinkers arranged to mesh with the needles, and means for causing a gradually varying depth of mesh throughout the series of sinkers from the ends toward the middle of a course of knitting. v

2. A knitting machine including needles and a series of cooperating sinkers arranged to mesh with the needles, and means for causing a gradually. increasing depth of mesh throughout the series of sinkers from the ends toward the middle of a course of knitting.

3. A knitting machine having a series of sinker-carrying jacks and means for relatively varying the extent of vibration of the jacks of the series comprising a faller bar the operative face of which is longitudinally curved.

4. A. knitting machine having a series of sinker-carrying jacks and means for relatively varying the extent of vibration of the jacks of the series comprising a faller bar the operative face of which is longitudinally concaved.

5. The combination in a straight knitting machine of a series of sinker-jacks, means for operating said jacks, a series of sinkers actuated by the jacks, a series of needles arranged to cooperate with the jacks to form a fabric, and a design cam cooperative with the sinker jacks for varying the amount of inter-mesh between the sinkers and the needles.

6. The combination in a straight knitting machine of a series of sinker jacks, means for actuating said jacks, a series of sinkers, a series of needles cooperating with the sinkers to form a fabric, a supporting structure, and a bar of irregular contour forming a design cam mounted upon said structure and placed to limit to a different extent the possible movement of certain of the sinker jacks.

7. The combination in a straight knitting machine, of a frame having a movable carriage, a slur race thereon, a slur cock on said race, a series of sinker jacks pivotally mounted on the carriage and placed to be actuated by said slur cock, a sinker pivotally hung from the end of each sinker ack, a series of needles placed to cooperate with said sinkers to form a fabric, with a bar constituting a design cam mounted upon the frame of the machine and placed to be operative upon the various sinker jacks to vary the amount of intermesh of the sinkers and the needles.

8. The combination with a straight knitting machine having sinkers, sinker-jacks and needles, of a bar extending transversely of the sinker-jacks and adjacent thereto, and a plate adjustably mounted on said bar and cooperative with the sinker jacks for varying the amount of intermesh between the sinkers and the needles.

9. The combination with a straight knitting machine having sinkers, sinker jacks and needles, of a bar extending transversely of the sinker jacks and adjacent thereto with a plate adjustably mounted on said bar and having inclined surfaces to engage the sinker jacks for varying the amount of intermesh between the sinkers and the needles.

10. The combination in a straight knitting machine, of a series of needles; a series of yarn sinkers cooperative with the needles and a bar of irregular contour forming a design cam, and placed to limit to a different extent the possible movement of certain of the sinkers.

11. The combination in a straight knitting machine of a series of needles; a series of yarn sinkers operable to intermesh with the needles; and means placed to eifect a gradual difference in the extent of intermesh between successive sinkers and their respective needles. V

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiixed my signa ture in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN L. MAoADAMS.

Witnesses:

C. FRANK CLARE, THOMAS HARRISON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G. 

